Health Editor

Nurses at the Royal Children's Hospital are concerned that staffing levels are not being increased sufficiently to manage planned opening of four new beds in their unit this month. Photo: Peter Braig

MENTAL health nurses at the Royal Children's Hospital are threatening to walk off the job over a staffing dispute with management that follows a string of assaults.

The two unions representing mental health nurses at the new $1 billion hospital say adolescent inpatients have attacked several nurses this year. Some have allegedly been kicked and punched and attacked with four inch nails, the Australian Nursing Federation says.

The nurses are concerned that staffing levels are not being increased sufficiently to safely manage the planned opening of four new beds in the unit this month. The expansion will take the ward from 12 to 16 beds.

Acting secretary of the Victorian branch of the ANF Paul Gilbert said although the hospital had agreed to boost nurse numbers during the day, it was refusing to increase those rostered on to the night shift from three to four.

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He said if the hospital started opening the new beds on Thursday without an extra nurse rostered on to the night shift, some nurses would exercise their right under the Fair Work Act not to work because they believed it posed an unacceptable risk to their health and safety.

"The likelihood is that those nurses will exercise their right not to go to that ward for their shift," he said.

Mr Gilbert said hospital management had told him patient assaults on nurses had increased since the ward opened earlier this year. He did not have figures, but had heard anecdotal reports of assaults.

"We welcome the expansion of this much needed mental health service for children and teenagers, but extra patients require extra nurses, particularly in such a complex health environment," he said.

Assistant Secretary of the Health and Community Services Union Paul Healey said he had heard of about nine assaults on nurses at the hospital's mental health unit this year and said his members were also concerned about safe staffing levels. However, he said his members were happy to continue negotiating with the hospital rather than walk out on Thursday.

Mr Gilbert said the nurses' concerns were exacerbated by the design of the new ward which separated patients into various areas, creating more opportunities for nurses and patients to be left alone.

Executive director of nursing at the hospital Bernadette Twomey would not answer questions about how disruptive the action would be or how many assaults had occurred but said the four beds would open gradually so the hospital could monitor the impact before changing the nursing roster.

"It's important to note additional nurses are always made available on this ward in response to increased patient acuity and that won't change. We are committed to ensuring the safety of all members of staff, as well as patients, wherever they are in the hospital," she said.

jmedew@theage.com.au

47 comments

Minister David Davis. Fix this!. Your Premier proudly stood by the Queen when she opened the building so now you must add value to that by guaranteeing the safety of nurses. We the people of Victoria DEMAND that our nurses and other hospital staff are safe from assault

Commenter

Ange T Kenos

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 7:37AM

I have a suggestion. Why doesn't the hospital get rid of its layers of administrators (currently 3 administrators to 1 health care worker) and hire more nurses instead? Why always look to the gov't to solve all your poblems? Why not solve your own problems, problems which have been created by the bloated hospital admin bureaucracy.

Commenter

jane

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 11:25AM

@ jane, agreed. HR where I work have renamed themselves "People and Culture" to "better reflect their role". Sick making. Useless lot they are. Soaking up money better directed to the whole health care system. Their primary role seems to me to be to defend and protect the rear ends of the upper managers from the hard working minions below who might have genuine grievances.

Commenter

raspberry

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 1:09PM

The Victorian public complain about living in a 'nanny state', and our nurses are rewarded with violence from those they are trying to help. It might really be time to raise the legal age for drinking alcohol to 21, we're obviously not being tough enough.

Commenter

OD

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 7:51AM

And exactly what difference will that make for youth with mental health problems? Did you even read the article?

Commenter

Brains

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 8:44AM

@Brains, you can't join the dots between all the mental issues kids are experiencing these days and the underaged drinking and drug taking that is going on? We have a SICK society and the government are doing nothing to stop it....except tax law abiding citizens again and again! Maybe parents of underaged drinkers and drug takers should be heavily fined instead?? Just my 2c worth!

Commenter

Craig

Location

Mordialloc

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 10:09AM

Um, I think you will find that alcohol abuse (and other drugs as well) generally follows mental illness, not the other way around.

Commenter

Ross

Location

Preston

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 10:31AM

Yep your correct ross also

Craig, craig, craig, I dont understand, If people at risk that are under the legal drinking age right now, how will putting it upto to the age of 21 fix anything?

Its these types of views and opinions that do nothing for the people that actually need it. there's plenty of money out there for better social services, ie taxation of weed, regulate it like alcohol

But this will never happen because people have their dogmatic views of it due to a 80year old running smear campaign. That is unless you think cigarettes and all alcohol should be banned with the same penalties.

Commenter

anon

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 11:11AM

Most of the problems these days are a direct result of our acceptance of violence and our acceptance of substance abuse. Combine the 2 in young people, and its a ticking time bomb. Let's get back to individual's acceptance of responsibility for their own actions and watch our society improve. Oh no, the social workers squeal.....that will never work (and by the way, it eliminates our jobs....)

Commenter

beth

Date and time

November 08, 2012, 11:29AM

OD, obviously you have had little to do with mental illness. Your comment totally disregards the issue at hand, that there is not enough nurses in these wards.Raising the legal age of drinking will do absolutely nothing to curb mental illness.